Thomas, Griswold & Company

Cavalry Officer’s Sword

It was brought to my attention that some
viewers could not see the detail of the sword strike that I described, so
I have posted a closer image of it. I believe all can see it now. See
below.

Thomas, Griswold & Company swords are found
with several different company markings and with no markings at all. This
is true for both the company’s artillery and cavalry officer’s swords.
The company manufactured swords to sell at retail on the New Orleans
market and wholesale to retailers such as Hayden & Whilden of Charleston,
South Carolina. The latter were stamped with Hayden and Whilden’s name
and address. It is also known that Thomas, Griswold & Company made swords
for the Confederate and various Southern state governments.

The following is pure speculation, but it
seems reasonable to me that the swords made for the retail market were
marked with the full firm name and address. The swords marked with only
the initials were for sale to the Confederate government and the unmarked
were sold wholesale to other military outfitters such as Hayden & Whilden
of Charleston, South Carolina.

The Thomas, Griswold cavalry officer’s sword
shown here has the most desirable of the markings, the full “Thomas,
Griswold & Co. New Orleans” stamp at the ricasso. This marking supports
the above theory because Confederate officer’s had to purchase their own
weapons, and this is a cavalry officer’s sword. The stamping has been
double stamped giving it an almost 3-D effect. The sword retains
virtually all of its original leather wrap including the glossy surface.
The double twisted, brass wire is tight and one hundred percent
complete. The brass guard is tight and retains traces of gilt. The grip
and guard could not be improved upon; it is simply beautiful.

I often chuckle when I see blades that were
obviously chewed up by kids playing “swords” with them euphemistically
described as “battle scars” and I do not think I have ever claimed a beat
up edge as the wonderful effects of Confederates cracking Yankee skulls.
So I am hesitant to describe the nicks on this blade’s edge as “battle
scars” but I will explain my reasons for thinking that they are, and let
you decide. Most of the nicks are relatively deep, which by itself is not
definitive because some kid could have been swinging too hard, but look at
the nick about seven inches behind the point. You can see (when viewed
from the right) the mark where it buried itself halfway, literally halfway
through the opposing sword. I do not think this could have been done
while playing. That is my opinion, as I said; feel free to make your own
judgement. Other than this damage (whether desirable or not is also
debatable) the blade is beautiful from ricasso to point and still remains
semi bright and it remains that way from having been well cared for since
the War, not from having been scoured since.

The sword is still sheathed in its original,
full brass scabbard. It is virtually perfect as made with the exception
of a couple of dents in the lower half, which are shown and the extensive
wear on the rings and mounts. I have taken pictures of the mounts to show
the extreme wear on both the top and bottom mount. It is truly
remarkable that a sword that exhibits so very much natural wear should
have survived in such excellent condition, but thankfully, it did!